CXO 2009 round-up

2009 has been a busy year for business and CXO. 2009 has seen some parts of Europe stay in recession, while other parts battled to break free and keep their heads above water. Some countries like the UK look like they're going to end 2009 still in the red.

This year has seen social networking gaining momentum, data protection being bought to the forefront, and the companies that provide us with our TV entertainment causing us controversy of their own. CXO takes a look at some of what has happened in 2009 that we've paid attention to.

TV channels

TV channels are supposed to be about providing us with drama to watch, not providing it for themselves, yet this is exactly what 2009 has seen BBC, ITV and Channel 4 do.

ITV

This year has seen ITV hunting for a replacement for its chairman, Michael Grade, who steps down at the end of this year, at the same time it was struggling to cope with the global ad slump. Many names were thrown into the bag as speculation grew as to who would take on the role. Nominees ranged from Simon Fox, chief executive of HMV, to Tony Ball, former chief executive of BSKYB.

As the year went on, the list of names for the job was gradually added to, as previous favourite Tony Ball was found not to be favoured by the ITV shareholders due to excessive demands.

Finally in the middle of November, ITV announced that their new chairman was Archie Norman, the former chief executive of Asda. He will take the reins in January, where one of his first tasks will be appointing a new chief executive, which ITV have been hunting for since April.

Channel 4

As ITV searched for a new chairman, Channel 4 searched for a new chief executive, as chief executive of five years, Andy Duncan resigned and will be leaving by the end of 2009. Duncan stepping down was "mutually agreed" with Luke Johnson - the chairman, and the broadcasters other board members. Duncan had been pushing for financial support to meet a funding gap amounting to about GBP£100 million a year from the middle of the next decade. But Digital Britain failed to offer any cash or subsidy, leaving Duncan's strategy in tatters. Again, many names have been named for his replacement, as of yet no clear front runner seems to have appeared.

BBC

And finally, BBC found their plans stopped at every turn. The broadcaster had their plan to link their iPlayer service to ITV and Channel 4 rejected, as the BBC Trust concluded that the scheme was "too complex." This was the second time a plan to link BBC, ITV and Channel 4 programmes online was been blocked. A previous attempt to create a single website with programmes from all three broadcasters was prevented from launching by the Competition Commission.

As Murdoch planned to charge for content, there was worry that other news providers would follow suit, but the BBC were quick to reassure that they had to such plans.

The BBC was also told that it needs to keep BBC Worldwide on a short leash, as it found itself in trouble with internal regulators over its activities. The corporation was in the spotlight over its commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, after competitors complained that there was an unfair advantage due to the corporation's huge financial muscle. The corporation has faced heavy criticism over its 2007 acquisition of Lonely Planet, the guidebook publisher, for GBP£90 million.

Finally for the BBC, they are being forced to reveal the names and salaries of 105 senior managers paid more than GBP£150,000 under government plans.

Business data and scareware

A main business item featured on CXO this year was business data, or mainly the protection of it. This year has seen a big worry that businesses aren't doing enough to protect themselves and their employees.

There has also been a rise in 'scareware', as it was claimed that online criminals are making millions of pounds by tricking computer users into downloading fake anti-virus software. It was another example of why your computers at home and at work should be fully protected by adequate anti-virus software.

According to an information watchdog, the number of data losses and security breaches of personal information has increased by more than half in just a year, with a third of the losses being due to theft or burglary. The watchdog has warned "unacceptable" amounts of data is now being lost. The Information Commissioner's Office, the data watchdog, urged organisations to improve their security arrangements for holding sensitive information.

Social Networking

Social networking has continued to rise as everyone picked their favourite form. Myspace seemed to get pushed to the side as Facebook and Twitter took over. In fact, some started to fear that email would become obsolete as people favoured social networking sites as a form of communication.

It was also found this year that staff who use social networking sites, such as Twitter, while at work cost UK businesses GBP£1.38 billion each year according to a report by IT services group Morse, who commissioned the report. They said that such online behaviour clearly had a "productivity strain" on firms.

To try and solve the lost hours, some businesses were even considering a different form of cigarette break - a social networking break to try and curb lost hours.

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